Woodside said on Thursday the lump sum turnkey deal is for the three-train 16.5 million tonnes per annum foundation development of Louisiana LNG.
According to Woodside, total Louisiana LNG expenditure from December to end of the first quarter of 2025 is forecast to be up to $1.3 billion, which is included in the overall estimated cost for the foundation development.
Woodside said the estimated forward cost for the foundation development is $900-960/tonne, unchanged from the range at the time of acquisition.
The Australian company now owns US LNG developer Tellurian and its Driftwood LNG project.
In October, Woodside acquired all issued and outstanding Tellurian common stock for about $900 million cash, or $1.00 per share. The implied enterprise value is about $1.2 billion.
Woodside also renamed Tellurian’s Driftwood LNG project Woodside Louisiana LNG and named new directors.
LNTP
In March 2022, Tellurian issued a limited notice to proceed (LNTP) to Bechtel.
Since then, Bechtel’s construction activities have included site preparation, excavation and backfill, stormwater management, and pile driving activities.
Tellurian revealed in the July construction update that it had signed a new deal with Bechtel for the project.
“On June 27, 2024, Driftwood LNG and Bechtel finalized and executed LNTP 3,” it said.
Going forward the project will focus on site preservation, maintenance, the procurement of
additional piles, and the continuation of pile installation in plant 2, Tellurian said at the time.
Woodside said in the statement that Bechtel has worked on site since the acquisition and will continue work under a limited notice to proceed (LNTP) executed under the revised EPC contract.
The LNTP provides for continued site construction and commitment to certain key materials and services required for the foundation project, the company said.
FID in 2025
Woodside continues to target final investment decision (FID) readiness from the first quarter of 2025.
CEO Meg O’Neill said the signing of the EPC contract and continuation of engineering and construction activities contemplated by the LNTP represented an “important step” in the development of Louisiana LNG.
“We continue to move at pace. In a short period of time, we have completed the acquisition, secured competitive revised EPC pricing that covers all three trains, and opened the data room with strong interest from potential project partners,” she said.
“Louisiana LNG is an advantaged project that is fully permitted and has Bechtel as the EPC contractor. The competitive pricing and schedule certainty we have now secured compounds this advantage in the current uncertain market environment for competing projects,” O’Neill said.
O’Neill previously said that the company’s acquisition of Tellurian was “too good to pass up.”
“When the Tellurian opportunity crossed our desk, we thought.. this is really too good to pass up,” O’Neill said.
“You know 27.6 million tonnes, that is as much LNG capacity as we’ve built in our 35 years in Australia,” she said.
The CEO also noted previously that Woodside sees big interest from firms to sell equity in the LNG export project in Louisiana.
Woodside may sell up to 50 percent of the stake in the LNG project.
